Titles of a Man Called Roronoa Zoro
by Robin Roronoa
Summary: He had been called many things in his short life. Chapter 56 of my ongoing one-shot series, that a friend asked me to publish individually. There's also a new added title section in there for those of you who have read this already, it's in between Brook and Robin's second one entry. Enjoy! :)


_Kid_

They never took him seriously, not that he blamed them. He was a nobody, some scruffy-looking kid with an affinity for swords that had been abandoned into a world much crueler than he imagined, but that was going to change. Everyone would know his name, he would be the best. That was all that mattered.

_Zoro_

He was alone again. She had been his dream, the goal he had to conquer in his quest, and now she was gone. The dream he had had morphed into a promise to a friend, to her, she couldn't earn the title of 'The Best' anymore, but he could, his body was still able, still breathing, still...alive. That goal was his only tie to someone who had understood him, who had dared him to go beyond his limits and give his all to defeat her, and he would. He would defeat her by keeping the promise they made, he would be the best...for both of them.

_Pirate Hunter_

He hated the title, he didn't ask for someone to label him. Besides, he wasn't a bounty hunter by trade, it was more by necessity if anything. He had a stomach, a stomach needs food, food costs money, turning in pirates gave him money, simply as that. This wasn't the title people would know him by anyway, they would tremble at the sound of his name because no one else could compare. He would show them, he would show them who he was, and that would be the best.

_Big Bro_

He didn't blame them for tagging along with him, after all he was much stronger. The weak always flocked to those stronger than them, that's just how the world worked. He didn't ask to be put in the role as their mentor, or protector, or 'Big Bro', but he would do it. They needed him...at least for now, and he could use the company after all. They weren't her though, they didn't test him like she had or push his buttons in that infuriating way that she always could, but they needed him at the moment...just like he needed them.

_A Demon in Human Form_

He didn't care what people thought of him, they didn't matter anyway. Just faces that he couldn't care less about, meaningless. They could call him whatever they wanted for now, it didn't matter as long as he reached his goal. His name would reach the very heavens and then he would only have one title associated with his name. He knew who he was and what principles he lived by, what others thought wasn't important as long as he knew, as long as he never lost sight of who he was.

_Zoro_

It didn't make sense. Why would he choose to follow so idiot in a straw hat that spouted nonsense about being the 'Pirate King', he didn't even have a ship or crew yet? Maybe that was what made him stick by him even after he was free, they both had crazy dreams that nobody believed in. A crazy kid in a straw hat, the first person since her that he felt a connection to. Oh well, if nobody else believed in them they would believe in each other, they would reach their goals together if all went well. Even if they didn't take each other all the way to the end he didn't think he would regret taking a chance on the kid in the straw hat.

_Idiot_

This girl would be the death of him. Bossy, loud, selfish, and above all weak. She had her moments like grabbing the fuse with her bare hands to save his idiot captain, but he honestly didn't know how she had made it on her own for so long. Probably tricking weak men who let their pathetic urges cloud their judgment instead of seeing through her deception for what it was like he did. They couldn't stand each other, but Luffy clearly saw something in both of them which made him want to give her a chance, no matter how difficult she was. And that look in her eyes. She was hiding something from them, what it was he wasn't sure, but she definitely hadn't put all her cards on the table. The little minx probably had aces hidden in her sleeves if what he had see of her so far was any indication of how she operated on a regular basis. Still though, he felt drawn to help her if she would let them in, maybe because she was weak like the others had been, or maybe because he noticed the pain hidden beneath her smile just like the other girl he used to know.

_Zoro_

For someone who tried so hard to lie his way out of situations, he could be remarkably brave. Protecting his village, fighting for his girl, giving the midgets a way to look brave without getting killed, all signs of someone who was strong, but not like him. He fought for himself, to reach his goal. He wasn't completely cold, but he wouldn't let others stand in the way of his dream, of living to make sure he kept his promise, so he didn't understand him. Maybe he just hadn't found something worth giving up on his dream for yet, but he doubted that would ever happen. He had one goal, one dream, nothing else mattered if he accomplished that. The others were nice to have around but unnecessary, at least that's what he told himself when he kept leaping into unnecessary battles for their sake. He was using them as a stepping stone to his goal, they would fade away just like she had, he couldn't let himself get attached.

_Moss Head_

This one was worse than the girl. At least she had some common sense and was able to use her wits for personal gain, but this guy was pathetic. He was the kind that fell for the witch's tricks all too easily, they were nothing alike. He was willing to give his life, everything he had for the dream he had committed to, but this guy just didn't understand. They would never see eye to eye, but they would make it work for the sake of the boy in the straw hat, the one both had been willing to bet their lives on, and that had to count for something.

_Mr. Bushido_

He respected someone who was so willing to give her all for others, even if he wasn't like that. He was selfish, but he could understand the sentiment. He had cared for others before, and now he even had a group of friends that he fought to protect regardless of whether it helped him get closer to his dream or not, and a captain he followed almost unquestioningly. He would help her until it stood in the way of his dream just like the others. He would give his all until he only had his share left, the part he saved for himself, the part he couldn't lose until he had fulfilled his promise and become the best. He would fight for them as long as he could, he just hoped that was until the very end so he wouldn't have to leave them, so he wouldn't be alone again.

_Zoro_

He had never seen someone so backwards. Someone who could turn into a monster, who had the strength to destroy those who stood in his way, but wanted nothing more than to help others. He could never be a doctor. Someone who gave their all to save the life of the person who had stabbed them in the back just because of some ethics code that doctors apparently lived by. He wasn't the type to save an enemy or anything like that unless it suited him. He had his own set of principles that he lived by, but he wouldn't let some stupid sense of duty get in the way of becoming the best. They were different from each other too, but they both cared for the band of misfits they agreed to join so he would protect him, whether he agreed with him or not. He was discovering that's what friends did. He just hoped they would do the same for him.

_Mr. Swordsman_

She was smarter than the witch, had years more experience than him or any of the others, she was dangerous, she couldn't be trusted. He would watch her until she decided to show her true colors, he knew she would, they always do. That stupid smile, that look in her eye, the way she covered her mouth to pretend she was trying to hide the fact that she was mocking him, he hated it. She pushed his buttons all too easily, she was infuriating, and somehow managed to make him want to punch that sexy smirk off her face every time she caught him staring at her while simultaneously wanting to stare into her intoxicating blue eyes all day. She was just a challenge to his dream, he would forget her as soon as she left because he knew her presence had an expiration date, but for now he could enjoy the familiarity her presence brought. He would enjoy the challenge he thought he would never experience again. He didn't trust her, but he couldn't deny the strange comfort he felt every time he was near her.

_Zoro-bro_

This guy was odd, like a weird relative that you only saw a couple times a year when he would visit unexpectedly, maybe that's why he fit in so easily with their messed up family. He had baggage, regrets and pain that haunted him, but he still smiled just like their captain. He tried to make the most out of the life his mentor had given him, and now he had pledged that life to the same boy that he had back on that Marine base. They were bonded together by the ties they had chosen. He didn't know why but he knew that this guy was one of them, after all he had fought to bring Robin back to them, he was forever in this weirdo's debt now whether he liked it or not, but other than that Luffy had chosen him. He didn't understand how but his captain had a way of finding the people that needed him most and becoming whatever that person needs, just like he had done with him. He knew now he had made the right choice when he sailed off with the boy in the straw hat. He was getting closer to his dream everyday he sailed with them, and now he had something worth protecting, maybe even something worth giving up his dream for.

_Zoro-san_

At least he could spare with this one. It would be nice to have a fellow swordsman on board, although he could do with one that didn't harass Robin and that loud-mouth navigator to see their underwear every time he saw them. Perverseness aside, he respected the skeleton that had lived on for half a century alone, and unable to leave the bleak darkness they had found him in. He didn't regret getting the guy's shadow back, he was a friend now, not that there was ever a question about that.

_ Roronoa_

He hadn't ever thought about how much he hated being referred to by his surname until the old man made a habit of referring to him by that alone. There wasn't anything wrong with the name, it just didn't feel like him. It was the name of a family he had never known, a name that made him a part of something he knew nothing about. He hated that. He wanted to be known by the names that he had made for himself, the ones that he had decided to be called, the ones those precious to him referred to him as. He didn't correct the man because he didn't think he would understand, he wasn't even sure if he did at this point. He was Roronoa Zoro, a swordsman, a pirate, a friend. He was a Straw Hat. That was the family he claimed, they were the ones he was proud to acknowledge as his own, they were the ones that he loved. He had always been Roronoa Zoro and he always would be, but Zoro the First Mate of the Straw Hat crew, that was his true name, the one his true family knew him as, and the one he would proudly claim when they were reunited. The world would hear that title and tremble, because it would announce that he was one of them. The crew that had reached the end of the Grand Line and found the All Blue, the crew that had discovered the lost history, the crew that had a map of the world, the crew of the Pirate King and the World's Greatest Swordsman. He had a family now, they all did because of that boy in the straw hat, the one that had claimed them as his nakama and given them a home. That's why they all had a name now, one that bonded them together, the name Straw Hat.

_Mr. Swordsman_

He had failed. He had fallen for her even after promising himself that he was better than that, that he didn't have those same feelings Love Cook always spouted on about, but he was wrong. He had failed, but so had she. She was in love with him as much as he was with her. It had been a long weird friendship that had brought them to this point, but he knew deep down that they needed each other. They filled a missing piece in each other that no one else could, he loved her, a part of him probably always knew that he would. He still had a dream, he would still give his life to fulfill his promise, but he wanted to live now. He would protect her, he would make sure she never woke up crying from nightmares ever again, he would make sure she could fall asleep in his arms and feel safe, he would be whatever she needed him to be, he would love her. They were the same after all.

_Daddy_

He had been called so many things in his short life. He had started out with nothing, had dedicated his life to a single goal, carrying the weight of those he had lost and the ones he had gained on his shoulders as he moved forward. He knew he wouldn't lose himself to anyone, he was selfish after all, his dream was the most important thing, but he failed...again. That boy in the straw hat had changed him, showed him that true strength could only form when you had someone worth fighting for, someone so precious that your life didn't seem worth living if they weren't there beside you. That infuriating woman that he never trusted, he had seen the scared little girl inside of her that she had spent twenty years building a wall to protect. He loved her more than he ever thought he could, she held a piece of him that he didn't know he could give, she was what he knew he couldn't live without, he needed her. It scared him when he thought what his life would be like if he hadn't gotten on that dinghy all those years ago, if he hadn't opened his heart to possibility of relationship, if he hadn't bet on the boy in the straw hat and taken a chance on a woman he swore he would never trust. If he had made different choices, he might of still reached his goal and gained the title, but he knew he wouldn't have the most important one of all, the title the tiny girl in his arms would call him one day. He had been called so many things in his short life, at least he had one he could be proud of now.

**A/N: **So this is chapter 56 of my ongoing one-shot series _Family Time One-Shots_. Here, you go Sketcher!:)


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